Project Overview
Allianz Field is a 19,400-seat Major League Soccer stadium in Saint Paul’s Midway neighborhood and the home of Minnesota United FC. NTH represented the City of Saint Paul as owner’s representative for the public investment in the site — approximately $22.5 million of streets, utilities, stormwater, and public realm infrastructure that made the privately financed stadium possible. The City needed independent oversight to confirm that public dollars bought public infrastructure, built to City standards, on schedule and on budget, on a site being developed simultaneously by a private team.
The Challenge
The stadium was privately financed; the site infrastructure was not. Tax increment financing restricted how public funds could be spent – by activity and by specific geographic portions of the site – so the accounting of public versus private investment had to be maintained and auditable at every stage. NTH’s client was the City, but construction was run by the developer’s team on the developer’s schedule, which meant influence without direct control. The site sits in a highly visible, closely watched corner of the Midway neighborhood, with a technical advisory committee, a community advisory committee, and public open houses all weighing in. And the infrastructure had to be complete and accepted ahead of a fixed opening date tied to the MLS season.
How We Made It Happen
NTH served as the City’s project manager from the development agreement forward. We abstracted the development, use, and land lease agreements so the City’s obligations were clear, then coordinated and pressure-tested the infrastructure estimate and tracked the budget line by line through construction – keeping the public/private split clean and defensible for TIF purposes. We reviewed infrastructure and stadium design documents, participated in weekly progress and design meetings, and performed independent jobsite observation of workmanship and progress against the schedule. We also monitored compliance with the City’s sustainability, public art, and workforce and business utilization policies, coordinated public safety and accessibility review, supported grant applications, and staffed technical advisory, community advisory, and public open house meetings so the City’s position was represented consistently in every forum.
The Outcome
The public site infrastructure was delivered to City standards and within the approved budget, in time for the stadium’s opening for the inaugural season. Every dollar of public investment was documented and reconcilable against the TIF restrictions. Allianz Field has been widely recognized for its design and continues to anchor redevelopment of the Snelling-Midway site.
